Theater and Music from Mediterranean Italy

Award-winning Italian theater company and singing duo visit Montclair State

Photo: Mike Peters

Director Marco Martinelli (far right) with students from the Department of Theatre and Dance and local high school students of Italian.

Italian theater and music was highlighted at Montclair State
University in February as two renowned Italian artistic groups – the award-winning
Teatro delle Albe and the acclaimed musical duo, the Mancuso brothers – brought
their artistry to campus. Sponsored by a collaboration of cultural
organizations and the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies at
Montclair State University, the events included a play, a theater workshop and
a music workshop.

The centerpiece of the programming was Teatro delle Albe’s powerful
play, Rumore di Acque (Noise in the
Waters), which addresses the perils of asylum seekers and economic migrants
attempting to reach Europe from North Africa by way of the Mediterranean Sea. The
moving performance was followed by a Q&A session with the playwright and
director, Marco Martinelli.

Musician brothers, Enzo and Lorenzo Mancuso, known as
Fratelli Mancuso, brought their unique sound to Leshowitz Hall for a
concert/workshop entitled, “Sicilian Music Revisited.” The Mancusos sang some
of the highlights of their repertoire, which consists of an eclectic mix of
sacred music, lullabies, and songs of protest. They also invited select
participants to join them on stage to sing the love song, “Nesci, Maria.”

Teatro delle Albe co-founders, Marco Martinelli and Ermanna
Montanari, ran the theater workshop that was attended by students of the
Department of Theatre and Dance as well as select high school students of
Italian who were invited to visit the campus. Conducted entirely in Italian,
the workshop included work in movement, breathing and singing.

“Spanning both large and intimate settings, these visiting
artists from Italy provided the Montclair State community with opportunities to
learn, to be challenged and perhaps most importantly, to be part of a warm
community that cherishes intellectual pursuits in the humanities and beyond,” says
Teresa Fiore, associate professor and Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian
American Studies. “I am profoundly grateful to the Inserra Endowment for what
it allows us to bring to our campus.”